Inflatable life raft



OC- 2,-1956 J. F. BOYLE ET AL 2,764,766

INFLATABLE LIFE RAFT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22. 1953 am sun mom TB EL V SnNv WER MY IAUM 8 @Nu W IM Y Il B .IM Om d@ -l O Om mm .wm N

ATTORNEY Oct. 2, 1956 J. F. BOYLE ET AL INFLATABLE LIFE RAFT 4 Shee'cs-Sheel 2 Filed July 22, 1953.

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F. nw N mm nN ATTORNEY Oct. 2, 1956 J. F. BoYLE ET AL INFLATABLE LIFE RAFT 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 22, 1953 FIG. 3

INVENTORS JAMES F. BOYLE 8 MYRON L.TAYLOR ATTORNEY Oct. 2, 1956 J. F. BOYLE ETAL 2,764,766

INFLATABLE LIFE RAFT Filed July 22, 1953 4 Sheets-Shes?I 4 v. v. f.

IN VEN TORS v JAMES F. BOYLE 8 BY MYRON L.TAYLOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O NFLATABLE LIFE RAFT James F. Boyle, Teaneck, and Myron L. Taylor, Sea Girt, N. J., assig'nors, by mesne assignments, to The Garrett Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of Callfornia Application july 22, 19553, Serial No. 369,652 8 Claims. (Cl. y9--11) This invention relates to inflatable lift rafts and particularly those of the type in which the otation part of the raft comprises one or more endless fluid-distensible elements surrounding the occupant-receiving space, with a fabric oor joined to the said flotation part in an annular zone at or near the middle plane of the latter, so that the raft can be inflated, with substantially the same serviceability, with either of its sides up.

Our chief objects are to provide a raft of this type adapted to have high freeboard, for comfort and protection of the occupants; to provide an endless, flexible, uiddistensible buoyancy element having desirable uniformity of inationeproduced tension in horizontally disposed zones of its wall; to provide for economical manufacture of the otation element or elements of such a raft from a small number of pieces of water-proof fabric of simple form, with a minimum of tailoring of the fabric; to provide a comfortable seat structure for the occupants; to provide a well supported floor for the raft; to provide convenient stowage of accessories; to provide an improved spray shield and means for supporting it; to provide an improved canopy and means for supporting it; to provide an improved combination of spray shield and canopy, each usable independently of the other but adapted to be joined to each other to provide a substantially complete enclosure of the rafts occupants; to provide for quick and easy mounting and dismounting of the spray shield and of the canopy; to provide improved supporting and tensioning means for each of the two; to provide for quick and easy partial disconnection of the canopy and spray shield at a selected leaward or windward position, as for ventilation or for observation; to provide conveniently for collection of rain water; and to provide improved boarding means to facilitate boarding or entrance of the raft from the water.

More specific objects will be manifest in the following description.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is an elevation, with parts sectioned and broken away, of a raft embodying our invention in its preferred form, with the spray shield, but not the canopy, in service position.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same with the canopy and the spray shield in service position and joined to each other for substantially complete enclosure of the occupants.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the raft with the canopy and spray shield in position as in Fig. 2, a part of the canopy being broken away. Y

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective showing the boarding means.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of inatable sheet material that preferably is used in the boarding means shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section showing `the preferred structure of the main inflatable flotation elements of the raft. t

Referring to the drawings the main flotationy or buoyy, 2,764,766 Patented Oct. 2, 1956 f 2 ancy elements of the raft comprise, each way from the horizontal middle plane of the raft, inflation chambers 10 and 11 partially defined by a horizontal water-proof fabric bulk-head 12 between them and formed with one or more apertures 13, so that each chamber 11 is in communication with the adjacent chamber 10 and is.

adapted to be inated therefrom by means of the usual compressed-gas cylinder device 14, with the usual equalizer tube 14a connecting the two chambers 10, 10.

The two chambers 10, 10 are separated by an imperforate horizontal bulk-head 15.

The preferred manner of constructing the water-proof fabric assembly that defines the main buoyancy chambers is shown in Fig. 6, in which 16 and 17, constituting respectively the peripherally inner and outer walls of the assembly, are strips of fabric, either cut with the Weave or bias, made endless by seaming. The fabric pieces 12, 12 and 15, constitutingthe bulk-heads of Figs. l and 2, and pieces 18 and 19, constituting the top and bottom elements of the structure, are so cut from the flat fabric that they have appropriate curvature in their own planes. Economy of fabric is provided as compared with former types of construction.

These several pieces are seamed to one another while in the simple form in which` they are shown in Fig. 6 and upon inflation the structure assumes the shape shown in Figs. l and 2.

The horizontal bulk-heads cause the structure to assume a shape in which it has greater height than it would have if, with the same amount of outer wall fabric, the bulk-heads were not present, and this provides greater free-board, for protection of the occupants and for a high back-support for occupants seated with their backs against the top-side part of the'structure.

In strength, appearance and raft capacity for agiven amount of fabric the type of construction just described is superior to rafts as heretofore made by assembling and seaming to one another a plurality of straight tubular elements in such manner as to produce a flotation assembly of polygonal form.

The floor or deck of the raft comprises a tubular seat element 20 seamed to the main flotation .structure along the middle line of the latters inner periphery and so seamed at its inner periphery'to an endless tubular auxiliary otation member 21, and thus connected to other deck structure, that it, the seat element, assumes approximately triangular cross-sectional form upon inflation, with its innerperiphery of approximately the same vertical dimension as that of the auxiliary flotation member 21, which serves along with the triangular element as a part of the seat.

This construction provides a seat that slopes back- Wardly with relation to an occupant having his back against the two upper cells of the main otation structure, which provides comfort and also prevents sliding of the occupant toward the center of the deck in case of a heavy sea.

These same advantages are contributed to also by an endless tubular auxiliary otation member 22 of which the outer periphery, at its middle plane, is connected to the member 21, at the middle plane of the latters inner periphery, by an annular deck sheet of fabric 23, the tubular member 22 serving as a foot rest and having other functions as will be hereinafter described.

The proportions preferably are such that the deck sheet 23 has only a comparatively short radial dimension from the annular flotation member 21 to the annular otation member 22, so that the deck sheet is not badly subject to depression by weight imposed upon any part of it, and the proportions also preferably are such that the deck sheet 23 is held tensioned between thosel two flotation members so that both of them, by resisting increase of their great diameters, supplement the stretch resistance of the deck sheet for holding the seat member to its approximately triangular form.

The flotation s eat element 20 and the auxiliary flotation deck tubes 21 and 22 preferably are provided with inflating valve stems 24, 24 on each side of the deck, for pump or mouth inflation, from whichever side of the ,deckI is uppermost, at theconvenience of the occupants, after the main flotation structure has been inflated by the compressed-gas cylinder device 14.

Air or gas in the seat elements insulates the occupants from the cold of the water under the deck.

In the central region of the deck a water-tight stowage chamber for accessories is provided by circular sheets of water-proof fabric 25, 25joined to the `flotation tube 22 in annular seams at the opposite, upper and lower sides of the latter. Each sheet 25 is formed with a diametric slit closed, except when required to be opened, by a slide fastener 25a (Figs. 2 and 3) which is sealed by a removable strip 25b of permanently adhesive water-proof tape. Each of the closure sheets 25 preferably is provided with an inflating valve-stem 24a, so that the accessory chamber can also be employed as a flotation element.

Secured in a water-proof annular seam to the side of each cell 11 that is farthest from the horizontal middle plane of the raft is an annular, water-proof fabric sprayshield 26 provided near its other margin with circumferentially spaced hooks 27, 27 adapted to be hooked into respective rings or loops 28a, 28?l mounted respectively upon a circumferentially spaced set of resiliently flexible supporting rods 28, preferably telescopic, for stowage, which are frictionally mounted, on occasion, in respective sets of loops 29 and sockets 30 which are suitably secured to the outer periphery of the main flotation structure. When held up in this manner the annular fabric sheet 26 serves, withoutthe canopy, as a spray shield.

The mounting of the rods 28 on the outer periphery of the main buoyancy structure gives the raft large internal capacity, and their resilience keeps the spray shield and the canopy tensioned.

The water-proof fabric canopy, 31, Figs. 2 and 3, is provided with a central hole 31a and a sleeve 31b extending downwardly therefrom to serve as a spout for directing rain water caught upon the canopy.

The canopy is reinforced by radial seam strips 32, 32 eachl having mounted in a looped-back and seamed portion 33 at its outer end` a hook 34 adapted to be engaged, on occasion, in an eye 28b mounted upon the outer end of the respective flexible rod 28.

The lower annular margin of the canopy is provided with a succession of sets of slide-fastener jaws 35, 35, adapted to be engaged respectively with matingv sets of slide-fastener jaws 36, 36 mounted upon the upper margin of the spray-shield 26.

Preferably the spray shieldj 26 is first put up as shown in Fig. l and then after the canopy has been mounted, the hooks 27 of the spray s hield are disengaged in succession from their anchorage rings 28a as the adjacent parts of the canopy and spray shield are in succession joined by the respective slide-fasteners 25-26.

The two spray shields 26, 26 preferably are joined permanently to the main flotation` structure and for stowage they are furled and held by ties 37, 37, asshown with regard to the lower spray shield in Figs. `l and 2.

Preferably the slide-fastener elements are mounted by the securing of their tape. to the inner face of the canopy near its margin 38, with the margin of the canopy extending in rain-shedding relation over the slide fastener, as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

With a succession of individual slide fasteners, one or more of them can be disengaged, as for ventilation, or for observation, while the others are left engaged.

The construction describedv provides for simple, quick and easyl mounting and dismounting of the spray shield and of the canopy.

The raft is shown as being provided with the usual lifeline 39.

For easy boarding of the raft it is provided, preferably at diametrically opposite positions, with respective inflatable ladders 40, 45B for alternative inflation and use according to which side of the raft is uppermost in the water when the main buoyancy structure has been inflated.

Each ladder is tailored of what is well known in the rubberized fabric art as mattress fabric, shown in section in Fig. 5 and consisting of imperforate, air-tight, spaced apart surface sheets 41, 41 connected by a multiplicity of closely spaced threads 42, 42 of equal length from surface sheet to surface sheet, so that the surface sheets will remain substantially flat and evenly spaced apart throughout their extent, with the exception of seams, when an article tailored of the material is infiated.

Each ladder preferably is shaped to fit the contour of the adjacent cells 10 and 11 when it and they are in inflated condition and preferably the ladder is permanently anchored to them as by means of anchorage patches 43, 43.

Each ladder preferably is provided with its own compressed-gtas-cylinder inflating device 44, Fig. 4, with deflation valves 45, 45 and with handle loops 46, 46.

Various modifications are possible without sacrifice of all of the advantages set out in the above statement of objects and without departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A raft comprising an endless side-wall structure and a flexible deck secured and sealed along its outer margin to said side-wall structure throughout an endless, hori- Zontally extending zone of said side-wall structure, said deck comprising a radially-outer flexible deck element and, secured and sealed along its outer margin to the inner margin of said element, a flexible-walled, endless, iluid-distensible, tubular member surrounding a stowage space, a flexible end closure member, for each end of said space, secured and sealed at its outer, endless margin to the adjacent face of the said tubular member, each of said closure members being formed with an access opening, and means for sealing said opening in closed condition.

2. A raft as refined in claim l in which the means for sealing the access opening of the end closure member comprises a slide fastener for joining opening-defining marginsy of the end closure member that define said opening.

3. A raft comprisingl a flexible, tluid-distensible, sidewall member and a boarding ladder mounted upon said side-wall member in position to be used for boarding of the raft, said ladder comprising a pair of flexible-Walled, fluid-distensible side-rail members and rung members connecting said side-rail members.

4. A raft comprising a flexible, fluid-distensible, sidewall member and a boarding ladder mounted upon said side-wall member in position to be used for boarding the raft, said ladder comprising a pair of flexible-Walled, fluiddistensible side-rail members and rung members connecting said side-rail members, each of said rung members being a flexible-walled, iluid-distensible member.

5. A raft as defined in claim 3 in which each of the recited side-rail members comprises internal tie means, holding it, against internal fluid pressure, to wide and thin cross-sectional shape.

6. An inflatable raft comprising a tubular, circumferentially disposed, iluid-distensible, main buoyancy element, upstanding posts directly secured only to the said element, and protective means supported by said posts, the said protective means having anchorage to the respective posts at positions on the outboard side of the circumferentially extending medial line of the said buoyancy 5 element, and the posts being mounted upon the outer periphery of the said buoyancy element.

7. A raft as defined in claim 6 in which the defined protective means comprises a spray shield having its lower margin permanently secured and sealed to the defined buoyancy member along a zone that is inward, toward the center of the raft, from the deiined posts, and including fastening means for detachably securing the upper margin of thel spray shield to the recited posts.

8. A raft as deined in claim 7 and including a canopy, means for securing said canopy to the recited posts, and means for securing the outer margin of the canopy, in substantially water-tight relation to the upper margin of the spray shield.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,366 Boyle 4.... Oct. 2, 1928 6 Cooper Nov. 9, 1943 Taylor Jan. 23, 1945 Kearney Sept. 17, 1946 Hallward Dec. 24, 1946 Manson Jan. 7, 1947 Bingham June 3, 1947 Sturtevant May 16, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1898 Austria Oct. 25, 1919 Great Britain Aug. 20, 1925 Great Britain May 3, 1950 Great Britain June 4, 1952 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Mechanics, July 1951, pp. 84 and 85, 9-2.1. 

